Lip Gloss

If you are a regular here on My Women Stuff, you’ll know that Paris B is no fan of lip gloss. I find it too goopy, sticky and too lacking in color. But that’s not to say that I don’t have any! One of the styles of lipglosses I like come in the clicky pens. You know those pens where you turn the bottom and swipe on the colour with a brush? The bottom makes a click-click sound hence the reason I call them clicky pens 😛

I happen to have clicky pen lip glosses from 2 brands and interestingly, one is higher end – Stila Lip Glaze and the other is low end – Beautilicious Glossy Jams. I thought it would be interesting to see how each fared against the other.

Packaging

Both lip glosses come in similar looking clicky pens. Both have transparent bodies so you can see the colour of the gloss easily and both have a brush applicator. I like brush applicators. I find it gives me better control. Both have a similar problem of too much gloss coming out of the brush if you turn the base too much.

Stila Lip Glazes are an iconic product of Stila. They were one of the first items launched and are still going strong, having received the thumbs up from many celebrities. What really makes the Lip Glaze an iconic product is the innovative packaging.

Where most lip glosses come packaged in a tube with a separate applicator built into the cap, Stila Lip Glazes comes in a clear clicky pen and a brush. What this does it make the product more portable and easy to use as you don’t have to fiddle with opening the gloss and using 2 hands to handle this product.

Using the Stila Lip Glaze is simple. Just twist the bottom of the pen about 2 times and wait for the colour to ooze out of the brush. Then, apply to lips. I find that 2 turns is just about right or you risk having a lot of goopiness on the brush and wastage when you eventually wipe it off.Continue Reading

My friend loved this lipgloss by Shiseido Integrate so much that she sent me this as a gift. Integrate is another brand under the Shiseido umbrella and its presently only available in Japan. Some stores in Hong Kong or Taiwan may stock some of the items or colours, but in the main, this is a Japan only brand. Pity really, as this looks like an interesting brand.

The Integrate Glamourous Rouge lipgloss comes in the shape of a pen with a clear body where you can see the colour of your gloss. However, the amount is very little. That bit of colour you see is about all you’ll get.

Initially, I thought that it was similar to the Stila Lip Glazes, where there’s a brush as an applicator. However, when I opened up the cap, I was surprised to see that there was no brush at the end, but a silicone spatula. Very odd.

You twist the bottom of the pen and the colour will ooze out the middle bit of the applicator. You then dab the colour on your lip and spread it out using the spatula. As its made of silicone, its pretty flexible. However, I found myself scraping off the colour rather than spreading it. That was until I pretended it was a butter knife and applied it that way. Then, I got it to spread nicely.

When you are done, just twist the bottom in the opposite direction and the excess colour will be sucked back into the tube so you don’t get a mess. Clever!

The colour looks scary in the pen, but when applied, its a cool sheer pink without much shimmer. Its not sticky and in fact, feels very comfortable on. Its not super shiny either. Just a nice sheer gloss with a tint of colour. The colour stays on quite long too, for a gloss. However, what puts me off a little, is the scent. When you apply the gloss, there is a sweet scent that lingers for a bit. I found it a tad cloying.

I’m not sure of the price, it being a gift, but I think Integrate ranks slightly below Maquillage, so I don’t expect it came cheap. In fact, they use Angelina Jolie as their spokes model. She can’t come cheap!

I’m not sure if or when this line will be released overseas. If you’d like to try it, there are some limited items from this brand in Adambeauty. I haven’t tried buying from them, so you are on your own there!